The MLSC is proud to spotlight Dr. Arindam Bhattacharjee who recently received a $200,000 award through the Frontiers program for his work at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Dr. Bhattacharjee is developing a scalable, low-cost genomic screening approach to identify newborns who may carry inherited variants associated with an increased risk of childhood cancer. By combining targeted DNA sequencing with an innovative sample-pooling strategy, the project seeks to substantially reduce the cost of genomic testing while maintaining the performance required for population-based screening. The grant will support the laboratory workflows, informatics, and infrastructure needed to advance a practical and scalable screening approach.
An estimated 10% of childhood cancers are linked to inherited genetic mutations present at birth, yet childhood cancer screening is not part of routine newborn screening due to high cost. Identifying children at increased risk before symptoms develop could enable appropriate surveillance, earlier diagnosis, and more effective management.
The project will evaluate whether this low-cost approach can reliably detect clinically important cancer-predisposition variants from newborn dried blood spots and establish the foundation needed for broader implementation. The same platform could ultimately provide an affordable way to expand genomic newborn screening to additional serious and treatable childhood conditions.
“Support from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center is an important step forward for our project,” said Arindam Bhattacharjee, PhD, Senior Investigator, Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “This funding allows us to evaluate an innovative, low-cost sample pooling workflow designed to reduce genomic sequencing costs. While our initial focus is on a specific disease area, the approach has the potential to inform broader screening efforts for severe childhood-onset disorders and help expand access to precision medicine. We hope this work will provide a scalable model for population-level screening and contribute to ongoing efforts to advance equitable healthcare in Massachusetts and beyond.”
This award is part of more than $1.1 million recently awarded to six innovative projects through the Frontiers program, which supports early-stage, high-risk translational research with the potential to transform patient care in historically underfunded genetic diseases.
This year’s award builds on $25.8M previously invested in Brigham and Women’s Hospital through the MLSC’s funding programs, helping advance groundbreaking research to strengthen Massachusetts’ life sciences ecosystem.
